Man using GPS drives into path of train

 

This is why you still need to pay attention when you drive and not completely rely on your GPS. Original article can be found here...

http://tinyurl.com/2ez3g8

Let's be safe out there!
PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

Copyrighted

Right at the bottom of that article it says it's Copyrighted. It also says it can't be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Maybe just the link would work.

RT

--
"Internet: As Yogi Berra would say, "Don't believe 90% of what you read, and verify the other half."

I have edited the start of

I have edited the start of this thread and removed the copyright material. We need to remember that it is ok to post a link to a story, it is not ok to post the story itself.

Miss POI

that's funny

that's funny

Oops, sorry about the pasted text...

Sorry Miss POI. Won't happen again.

Anyway, it is funny, mainly because the guy was damn lucky he didn't get killed. I wonder if he bought the insurance waiver on the rental?

PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

routing

I have had the GPS tell me to take pedestrian walkways and it will count small access roads as streets so I pay attention.

One way street

The GPS told me to turn down a one way street once. I almost did it but I was paying attention. Not to the one way sign but to my wife screaming at me when I started to turn. At least there were no trains (or cars) on the street.

--
You don't cease to play because you grow old, you grow old because you cease to play.

Common Sense & Map Skills

I guess the GPSr will never take place of a little common sense. Like people that can’t count change without a the cash register doing the math for them, I wonder if we will get to the point our kids will no longer know how to read a map?

--
Garmin nuvi 750, GPSmap 76CS, eTrex Legend

You have arrived at your destination

My GPS told me I had arrived while I was still going 60mph on a freeway with no exit ramp near. Good thing I did not stop and park!

--
Champagne to my real friends and real pain to my sham friends.

I hate to

be the first one to think it but... what an idiot. I mean really, come on... How stupid is that? sheesh...

Where is Darwin when you need him?

Some people shouldn't be allowed out of the home.

--
Be careful what you ask for, you might get it.

I only rely on the GPS as

I only rely on the GPS as guidance. I don't trust it completely but rely on common sense and observation.

Pre-planning trips

The first time I used a GPS to get to a place I have never been to before, I felt both elated and stupid. Elated because the GPS worked as promised, stupid because I felt I became dependent on it.

Because I focused on understanding how the GPS worked and following its directions, I did not pay enough attention to the names of the roads I took. I was not sure I could get back to where I came from if the GPS suddenly acted up.

After that experience, I tried to print out mapquest or yahoo maps prior to a trip if I had a chance. This has really helped me become more comfortable using a GPS and prevented me from just following occasional misdirections by my GPS.

--
vvitug

What a GPS is.

The GPS is like asking the idiot on the corner for directions.

That'll teach him to use

That'll teach him to use TeleAtlas maps!! smile

Ray

--
Garmin Streetpilot i3, Streetpilot C580 and Nuvi 265WT

Pretty Funny!, but Pretty

Pretty Funny!, but Pretty Scary too. Paying attention only to GPS voice directions without even thinking (like people turning into buildings and into fields, and now onto railroad tracks)is like driving with your eyes closed!!!

Hopefully this character won't be driving through a school zone with kids in the crosswalk when the GPS tells him to proceed straight ahead!

Weeding out the idiots in society

Maybe from now on he will pay more attention to his surroundings!

Amazing

Some people don't realize that the ultimate in accurate turn information is available to them by looking through their windshield.

--
Garmin Nuvi 750 & c530 with RT's vol. mod., Vulcan Nomad

Where was this guy from,

Where was this guy from, anyhow? He had a California Driver's License but he said he lived in NY. They couldn't find listings on him as being from California or NY. How long had he supposedly been in NY?

Glad no one was seriously injured.

I'm waiting for the story on

I'm waiting for the story on how he sues (1) the rental car company, (2) the GPS manufacturer, and (3) the person whose voice was recorded for the spoken directions. After all, it couldn't have been his own fault...

--
"Recalculating... drive 0.2 miles, then abandon vehicle." ------------- [ETrex Venture CX; Nüvi 40; Drive 52]

Man - NOT USING BRAIN - drives into path of train

This appears to be a typical news story that tends to miss the point.

Apparently California, like most US sates, has no real driving or thinking skills required to obtain a driver license. This driver's behavior is the cause, not the GPS, not the car, not the rental company, not the railroad, etc, etc, or whomever else he may try to sue as the next step for his failure to accept personal responsibility.

Wow, if waving one's arms could really stop a train . . .

The gene pool seems a bit shallow these days.

Bill

--
nüvi 880 - nüvi 760 - nüvi 660 - StreetPilot 2620 - Portland, Oregon

Funny, this guy should stay

Funny, this guy should stay out of cars.

--
Nuvi 50LM Nuvi 2555LM

Funny

This reminds me of an episode of "The Office", where Michael drove into a lake because the GPS told him to.

--
Magellan Maestro 4250, T-Mobile G1 with Google Maps, iPaq with TomTom, and a Tapwave Zodiac with TomTom and Mapopolis

I agree. Law sue happy

I agree. Law sue happy people.

Instead of admiting...

Dsorgnzd wrote:

I'm waiting for the story on how he sues (1) the rental car company, (2) the GPS manufacturer, and (3) the person whose voice was recorded for the spoken directions. After all, it couldn't have been his own fault...

That he's just stupid. But thats the American way these days...

--
Chuck - Nuvi 200, Nuvi 255W

.

Chlorine in the gene pool!

Map vs Terrain

gymkep wrote:

Some people don't realize that the ultimate in accurate turn information is available to them by looking through their windshield.

When we took our SAR training...the instructor took great pleasure in stating...
If the map and the terrain do NOT agree...
BELIEVE THE TERRAIN...smile

--
Paul in VT

Without a GPS

XXLZR1 wrote:

This appears to be a typical news story that tends to miss the point.

Apparently California, like most US sates, has no real driving or thinking skills required to obtain a driver license. This driver's behavior is the cause, not the GPS, not the car, not the rental company, not the railroad, etc, etc, or whomever else he may try to sue as the next step for his failure to accept personal responsibility.

In South Florida they can all drive, they just drive whatever way they used to in whatever country they came from. Our laws and driving rules don't matter.

Here is something about 2007's stupidest crimes in Palm Beach:

Quote:

On the wrong track
A woman got her car stuck on the train tracks in the 1700 block of West Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach after she turned onto the tracks. She told officers she thought she was making a right turn onto Interstate 95.

She mistook the railroad tracks as the on-ramp. They are very close to each other, and I95 is all under construction but that is a bad mistake.

Sounds like a candidate for

Sounds like a candidate for a darwin award

the office

mashryock wrote:

This reminds me of an episode of "The Office", where Michael drove into a lake because the GPS told him to.

i was thinking the same thing

Man using GPS drives into path of train

I would have to say this guy had to be preoccupied. There wasn't any mention that he was on a cell phone but I wouldn't put it past him. NY has a law banning the use of cell phones while driving but the law doesn't stop many from continuing to do so. I am also surprised that there weren't crossing gates at the tracks. If there were, this guy was an even bigger idiot because he must have tried to go around them instead of waiting.

In any event I agree with many of the above comments that you can't blindly trust your GPS to be correct. Mine always wants me to drive through a wooded area before I get to my street and home.

--
Nuvi 350 - North Carolina - I'm not a native Southerner but I got here as fast as I could!

I remember hearing...

I remember hearing this on newsradio the morning it happened and the first thought that came to mind, right after "what an idiot," was the guy knew he made a mistake and needed an out.

The Darwin

Quote:

Sounds like a candidate for a Darwin award

You must die to qualify for the Darwin Award.

--
Allan Barnett - Garmin nüvi 885T/765T/Pharos GPS (bluetooth) w/MS Maps on PPC

Tracking

Quote:

Mine always wants me to drive through a wooded area before I get to my street and home.

I was in San Antonio TX and was walking around the River Walk. I placed my GPS into pedestrian mode to get around. I forgot to put it back into car mode and Jill (the GPS voice) wanted me to go down the wrong way on one way streets.

I make her very upset, she keep saying "Recalculating"

--
Allan Barnett - Garmin nüvi 885T/765T/Pharos GPS (bluetooth) w/MS Maps on PPC

Gene Pool removal...

PCPro wrote:

You must die to qualify for the Darwin Award.

Technically you just have to remove yourself from the gene pool, which doesn't necessarily mean you have to die. Accidentally castrating yourself, for example, would certainly qualify... if the awards were actually real that is.

smile
PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

Just gotta get used to it

FREDL wrote:

In any event I agree with many of the above comments that you can't blindly trust your GPS to be correct. Mine always wants me to drive through a wooded area before I get to my street and home.

I saved the location of the nearest gas station to favorites - except I was at the extreme end of the parking lot next to the off ramp of a major parkway. Now my GPS wants me to get on the parkway so I can get gas on the off ramp! (Que mp3 of Homer Simpson - "Doh!")

--
Ron - StreetPilot C-340, Nuvi 750

New story of GPS on yahoo.com

There is a small video clip from ABC I believe that talks about GPS having people go the wrong way. Watch how they try to scare the people who just don't know how they work and make people leary of ever owning one.

Reminds me....

...of the guy who activated the cruise control on his car then started doing something else and crashed... he thought that cruise mode was like autopilot. Seems that some people have the same misconception about GPS. rolleyes

--
Rick - Nüvi 260 - eTrex Summit HC

Old Gem

rapriebe wrote:

...of the guy who activated the cruise control on his car then started doing something else and crashed... he thought that cruise mode was like autopilot.

Ah that old gem of urban folklore. That one has been around at least since the late 1970s. With GPS and other new gadgets around, that would be a prime one to get circulating again, just with updated technology.

PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

You should of asked!

That's what the wife use to say before we got the GPS.
Least I don't get yelled at to pull over to ask for directions,I can always tell her yell at the GPS not me.
When I first got the GPS a year ago,I did not trust it,now I do,but I do keep my eyes open,and think ahead.
Ron

Apparently California, has no real driving skills

Not all of us in California drive this way! Only most of us. smile

--
Gage with a nuvi 350 and 200

Article on GPS and man driving in path of train

I would love to see the story but the link didn't work. Is there another link. I have found that my GPS does not recognize my work parking lot and keeps recalculating to have to get back on the road.

Parking lots are not roads.

bsp131 wrote:

I have found that my GPS does not recognize my work parking lot and keeps recalculating to have to get back on the road.

That's pretty much true of ALL parking lots, even those in a large shopping mall or office/industrial complex. They are not official roads, so they are not on the map. They are private property. I wish it were different as well. It's a little tedious to have your GPS faithfully route you to a shopping mall or office complex and then just quit while you are 1/4 or 1/2 mile away from your destination. The published "address" will usually be on the street in front of the mall or complex while the actual store or office you want could still be 1/2 mile away inside the private property. It's not a mapping mistake, it's just how they do it.

Program in the actual location instead!

bsp131 wrote:

I would love to see the story but the link didn't work. Is there another link. I have found that my GPS does not recognize my work parking lot and keeps recalculating to have to get back on the road.

Of course I would hope you know how to get to work by now and don't actually need the GPS to help you, just for fun. smile

But one work around is to put in the actual location of the car in the parking lot and assign that as your work location. On my nuvi 200, to do this I would park or locate the car in a reasonable location of the lot, then tap the Car icon which brings up the current location and prompts me if I want to save the location as a favorite. Say yes, then assign this location as your work rather than the address or whatever you used.

It still might get confused getting you to that location (e.g. trying to send you down a side street to get there rather than the work driveway) but once you get to the lot it should then agree you have arrived at your destination.

PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

Abundantly Clear

It became abundantly clear through the numerous posts on GPS directions that inaccuracies abound. I just not long ago received my Garmin Version 2008 update hoping that some of the incorrect directions might have been corrected...in one case there was a right turn indicated where no right turn is allowed. The improvements were not to be found.. So I did what I considered to be my part by logging into the Garmin site and posting the errors so that a later release would have the corrections... I would guess that other GPS manufactures would have similar sites for logging these corections. If we were to all do this then hopefully, this might someday save one of those individuals that would otherwise "run into a train".

--
Randy C530, Nuvi 52

I'm the only navigator I trust ...

vvitug wrote:

After that experience, I tried to print out mapquest or yahoo maps prior to a trip if I had a chance. This has really helped me become more comfortable using a GPS and prevented me from just following occasional misdirections by my GPS.

I am with you on that. I love maps, mapping, trip planning, etc. Anything that has to do with maps. My GPS is simply an extension of my map-love. And having my wife as my navigator, I have learned never to trust anyone but myself to get me where I want to go.

Me: Do you know how to get there?
Her: yes
Me (awhile later): OK, where do we turn?
Her: Ahhh ... I don't recognize any of the landmarks.
Me: What street should I turn on?!
Her: I don't know. I'm looking for a blue house on the corner with a rose bush!
Me: @#$%%&^@!%^&^!$!!!!

I go to Yahoo map (because it has a lot of my normal locations saved), plot the route. I then put it in my GPSr, and for the Nuvi, I tap the top of the screen and page thru the directions to see if it matches. If it doesn't, I investigate the difference. I do not like not knowing where I am, where I am going or how I am going to get there.

--
Garmin #1: eTrex Vista Garmin #2: Nuvi 350 Garmin #3: Forerunner 201 <br> "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts." - Sen. D.P. Moynihan

Getting lost

In my younger days (long time ago), I use to enjoy deliberately driving into a neighborhood I didn't know just to see if I could find my way out. Some sort of urban attempt at adventure, I guess. grin

While that may not be such a good idea in today's world, having the ability to press "GO HOME" makes me think about it more often lately....

--
Ron - StreetPilot C-340, Nuvi 750